“Of course I’m disappointed, but it’s a matter of priorities. The Olympics are a big deal, yes, but not as big a deal as multilateral talks concerning our economic prosperity and sustainable development, nor are they really the business of government. You might say that it’s crucial that the Prime Minister make Australia’s voice heard at international meetings like G20 and Brazil.

“Snub”? No, that’s just silly. Of course she would have wanted to go, but again, isn’t sustainable economic development, rather than a sporting event, a more appropriate focus for the PM?

I think it’s vital that we show the world that we do understand these priorities and that we’re not simply sports-mad musclebound meatheads who only open the newspaper at the sports section and don’t give a toss about our participation on the international stage except where lycra, liniment and ligaments are involved.”

…Obviously I am not suggesting my brave readers unleash an anonymous torrent of racist abuse and cruel one star reviews on Anita’s Amazon page, that would be all incitey and I’m not that sort of person.
…What?…No… Who are these MONSTERS? Is it I who have inadvertently released this dusky genie from its bottle? Surely not. I was simply mourning free speech in my little way…

But how curious. You know my reputation for calling things by their blunt names. If I were a racist, wouldn’t I just say so?

Yes, because that’s totally how it works, isn’t it?

Hmm. I took some screencaps on Friday, and it’s technically true that no one gets up and yells “Hey, I’m a complete friggin’ racist!” As the First Dog would know, some dog whistles are so well known in Australia even a human can recognise them.

Transcript:Some people who claim to be blacks
Gorge on the teat of our tax.
Though lacking in melanin,
Don’t ever try tellin’ em;
You’ll be sued for stating the facts.

See? Completely not racist. Unless you’ve lived through the Hanson era of the internet (shudder), in which case the dogwhistling is loud and clear. I’ll give them doggy identities to distinguish them:(more…)

If you’re not a reader of Larvatus Prodeo, it’s a group blog where I (sometimes) contributed as a writer, more often hung out and commented. No day would go by without checking in at LP unless I was away from the city and/or an internet connection. From 2005 to 2012 we laughed, snarked, stoushed and pondered our way through the problems of the day.

But everything comes to an end. And as everyone’s favourite commenter, Nabs, says, “If you love something, set it free. Then it’ll shit on your head, fly aimlessly around in circles for a a while and then nest on your roof blocking the gutters.” I think there’s something in that for all of us.

Goodbye, purple blog. Thanks to Mark, Brian, Kim, Tigtog, Anna, Mercurius, Paul, Phil, Robert and many other writers with whom I had the honour to share writing credits, although my output certainly wasn’t equal to theirs. Thanks for having me, and thanks for the great conversations we’ve had over the years.